It's been more than five years since the Nationals made Chris Marrero the 15th overall pick in the country. Tonight, the now-23-year-old first baseman will make his major-league debut at last, recalled from Class AAA Syracuse to take the roster spot that opened when Ryan Mattheus (shoulder) went on the 15-day DL.

Marrero, who hit .300 with 14 homers, 69 RBI and an .825 OPS at Syracuse, will be in the Nats' lineup tonight, batting seventh. That means Michael Morse moves back to left field for the first time since June 29. Look for Morse to get plenty of playing time out there through the rest of the season, because the Nats plan for him to open 2012 in left field with Adam LaRoche (or possibly Marrero) at first base.

The other domino effect of Marrero's arrival is that Jayson Werth will start in center field tonight for the first time this season, with Laynce Nix in right field. Ross Detwiler is on the mound, looking to continue his recent upward trend. He'll be opposed by right-hander Mike Leake, whom the Nats roughed up for six runs at Nationals Park 11 days ago.

As you know, I'm not on this road trip. Back here in D.C., hunkered down for the storm and taking care of Mrs. Z and soon-to-be Baby Z. Enjoy the game, and please stay safe everyone!…

I can see Werth in CF since he can cover more ground than the hobbled Nix or the less-experienced Morse. I would still rather see Werth in right and Bernie in center, though. Any idea why Ankiel has not played 3 games in a row? Interested to see Christ Marero! I will take up the cause of Bernie like the fish fans did with the "free lomo" campaign.. FREE BERNIE!!!!!

I like this lineup a lot. I have been pushing for Werth close to the top of the lineup because he sees a lot of pitches, takes walks and is generally a good OBP guy. I like Werth at center only because this puts Ankiel on the bench. If there was a way to also put Nix on the bench i'd be all for that too. Finally I like that they are putting Marrero in the 7 hole because this is as low pressure in the lineup as you can be which is exactly how they should handle this. I was very strongly against Desmond at leadoff due to his miniscule OBP but I must admit that whatever Davey has been telling him is being absorbed and implemented. Desmond has been a good player since the move to leadoff. Lastly; I disagree with losing a 1 run game without having used your top available reliever. The old tired philosophy is to never use your closer unless you are in the lead. I disagree with that philosophy.

Additionally, inserting Marrero @1B creates a probable gap in range between 1B & 2B; Moving Werth to CF between Morse in LF and Nix in RF could compound the gap as both players are sub-par moving laterally & possess only average arms. Look for a few doubles into the gaps from the Reds tonight, as Werth runs his legs off backing them up.

Neither Gomes or Nix are defensive upgrades over Morse in LF. I was impressed with Marrero in Viera, both in the field and with the bat. Rizzo should have brought him up at mid-season because this move improves the weak offense.

phil dunn said… Neither Gomes or Nix are defensive upgrades over Morse in LF. I was impressed with Marrero in Viera, both in the field and with the bat. Rizzo should have brought him up at mid-season because this move improves the weak offense. August 27, 2011 4:47 PM Anonymous said… Further, if Marrero delivers, Laroche can be used as trade bait next spring. August 27, 2011 4:50 PM _______________________________Agree with both of you except the Nats need to sell high on LaRoche which would be seeing if he is healthy and raking first. They made the mistake of trading Willingham too quickly and sold way low.

Welcome Chris! So many people have been pulling for you, and I'm looking forward to seeing you.May the actual hurricane passing through DC be mirrored in the play of our Nats: blow through that Reds line up, Ross! And may extra winds pick up the balls we hit and take 'em outta the park!GYFNG!

Gonat'Agree with both of you except the Nats need to sell high on LaRoche which would be seeing if he is healthy and raking first. They made the mistake of trading Willingham too quickly and sold way low' This is only true if someone else was offering something higher and believe me you are not getting bopkes for Laroche whether or not he rakes next year. He was a free agent last year and there was no big lineup of potential suitors; now 1 year and 1 injury later you think you are getting something for him?

Wow — I need to spell check natsfan1a! I do want to see him play, but not that much. Must be this big low pressure system moving through. I still have power and hope it lasts for the game tonight. And – I hope it is entertaining and action packed. Come on guys, take our minds off this storm!

Every move the Nats make from here on out should be to augment the team when it's actually in a realistic contending position meaning when Strasburg and JZimm can throw over 200 innings; when Harper and Rendon are up and when Cole ,Meyer and Goodwin are right around the corner. We are talking about 1 more year; that's all. It's reasonable to upgrade the current roster to keep improving the team record but not at the cost of stifling the future.

Hunkered down here and might have to head out to the bar to watch the game if the power goes. Best wishes for all who are affected by the hurricane.Really iffy about this lineup. From an offensive perspective, it's awesome. Defensively… Werth played 21 games at CF last season, so he should be ok, but it's always hard to move from where you play on a daily basis. Morse wasn't great when he played LF consistently, I'd expect some growing pains as he readjusts out there. Marrero is in his first game in the bigs, wouldn't be surprised if nerves got to him a couple times. Add to that, our defense hasn't been exactly sparkling before all these adjustments. Hopefully we can bring enough lumber to mitigate the leather.That being said, there is a big concern with Detwiler on the mound. While his 2.61 ERA is amazing, he brings a 4.54 FIP with it, which is wretched. You could cry small sample, but his career FIP is 4.39. That's a huge differential and cause for concern considering the defense taking the field.He's been hot though, so let's hope for the best. We need a stopper tonight!

@Phil Dunn 4:47 – Gomes is better defensively going to either side than Nix, and slightly better going to his left than Morse. Nix is much like Willngham in the OF, a single plane defender (in-out). Davey is clearly going for best possible offensive lineup tonight, defense be damned. I hope he's right.

"In their last four games, all losses, the Nats are 2-for-42 with runners in scoring position. If the Nats simply matched their season batting average of .241 (next-to-last in the N.L.) over those 42 at bats, they would have produced 10 hits."–National News Network

That thought occurred to me as well, waddu. However, I seem to recall Mark saying at one point that baby z is projected to be a boy, so I'm thinking that Irene wouldn't be in the running regardless. Ruben, maybe.

Don't get mw wrong NatsLady, natsfan1a and JaneB. I love my wife, but a woman who not only likes, but undertands and has interesting insights into baseball is a rare experience for me, and I'm really glad you're here to lighten up and inform this blog. Also, your enthusiasm and optimism is a great antidote for all the neganonanativity.

One would hope that when DJ goes to the bullpen tonight, he stays inside roles: If the call is needed before the fifth, go with Gorzo and let him go two-three+ IP, with HRod in reserve to start an inning. If we get to the 7th with a lead, go with Coffey / Clippard / Storen. If we're getting pounded by the 7th, go with HRod / Balester & let them take the punishment, I suppose.

Just a thought – I have heard that Rizzo likes to get "high character" guys – but listening to Clip just now made me realize how many of our guys seem to be very bright. He and Storen are both very articulate, Storen went to Stanford, Zim, UVA – no dummies there.

The Nats have a way of making every opposing pitcher look like Cy Young. They have had only about two or three games this year when they have shown significant offense. Yet, Rick Eckstein still hangs on.

The high point of this season was the day Riggleman quit when the Nationals were two games above .500. That was when he was using a lineup that had the pitcher batting 8th. For some reason, that scheme worked well and the team scored runs. When Johnson took over, he went back to the pitcher batting 9th and the offense has been in a funk ever since.

NatsLady, short pop fly into right down the line. Carp thought it would drop and said something like 'only hope is that this falls foul'. Nix easily got under it and caught it 10 feet in fair territory.sunderland

I hate to judge this guy after just three innings, but Chris Marrero seems to be a guy who was born to be a Nat. Just what we need: another free-swinging, big strikeout guy who commits two errors in three innings. Haven't we done the Adam Dunn thing before?What, exactly, does this guy bring to the party?I'm listening…

I know it's been mentioned ad nauseum – but this is not a team that is playing well, and , in fact, just seems to be regressing. Seeing what people have for next year is not an excuse. Those of you who just love Davey Johnson, please tell me what positive results you see in this team that he has brought to the game. If he is such a great teacher and coach, what player on this team is showing any improvement under him – what is this team doing that shows any improvement under him? 2 players hit homeruns in the small park – ok. What else? I shudder at the thought of him being in control of Strasburg.

baseballswami, I agree. I've seen the team regress under Johnson; even if you argue we haven't then we sure haven't improved and Johnson has Zim every night.Right now with this team showing as little heart as it does – and lets be clear, there is absolutely no heart on this team – if you are Zim why in God's name do you not bolt for greener pastures?

Great points, swami. Uncle Davey seems to be thinking he's managing the 1966 Orioles and Frank and Boog will come through with three-run homers. This Marerro thing is a great example. Just what we need; another big swinging, no defense guy. Desi has totally regressed defensively. Nix just seems beat up. Neither catcher can field a throw from the outfield and apply a tax properly. Our batters continue to swing at bad pitches. We throw to wrong bases, continue to give away outs and make fundamental mistakes galore.Nobody else has the guts to say it so I will:The game has passed Davey by.

jeffwx – I beg to differ -one of the things Davey has done horribly is handle the pitchers. As much as it disappoints me , I know Rizzo will bring him back – he never admits he is wrong. One of the things I have notice the most is the defense. At one point we were very high up in mlb in defense and you could see how tight they played and took pride in it. The defensive play has become very sloppy. The pitching has suffered from it.

I'm with Swami. I'm missing the first part of the season when we strived to play fundamentally sound, clean baseball. Didn't always win, but always competitive. What style of ball are we trying to play now?

Agreed on Marrero – he'll probably be fine. At least he has an excuse for making a couple of errors. We have seen that he can hit. What do you all think of his fielding in general? I was worried about Morse back in left field but he really made a nice play!

Whynat – that's where I was trying to go , but thanks for saying it better. It wasn't just the defense, either -remember when this team could manufacture a run out of thin air. That never happens anymore – we just wait around for home runs. Anyway – back to the game – I just hate it when Morse and Zim are ice – cold. Brrrr.

Sunshine with the idiotic take of the night; judging Marrero's defense three innings into his MLB career. He's probably a little nervous dude. Oh and by the way he has made 5 errors in Syracuse this year.

Let me tell you why I am so hard on Desi. It's because he is so talented and not living up to his talent. I have students like that. Desi's a hard worker, I'm sure. You don't make those doubleplays and great throws without reps, reps, reps. But he doesn't THINK about the game, he doesn't observe who he's playing against, game situations, etc. Desi could be an MVP on a winning team but he WON'T be unless he gets that "extra 2%" that comes from knowing who is at bat (when he's fielding) and who is pitching (when he's batting). Someone asked why people have more patience with Henry than Des. Well, first of all, the problems they face are vastly different. Desi's problems are mental. He KNOWS how to field, he KNOWS how to bat, and he knows how to be patient, as he has shown in getting walks as a leadoff. He's infinitely frustrating to observers because he's so talented. Henry's problems are more complicated. Henry needs to learn his own strength and his own body. The more he gets out there, the better he will be. I have a feeling Henry will listen to advice and benefit from it. But his body and his mind don't always do what he wants them to do. But he has the right idea in his brain and it's more a matter of executing. That's just a feeling. Ian Desmond knows his body well and what it can do. His problem: he doesn't use his BRAIN to guide it as well as he should. (I would bet he "zones out" in video sessions about opposing teams.)Henry knows (or at least understands) what he needs to do, but can't yet manage his massive talent.

No accountability on this team since Davey. Swinging at 3-0. Watching balls go right down the middle. Just awful. Did I fail to mention Marrero SUCKS. Thank goodness its almost football season. The NATS ARE OVER!!!!!

lol NatsLady — Jordan's last start tomorrow – kind of sad. And against Cueto again and with our anemic offense. He has really been victimized by a lack off offense this year. I think he is going to be awesome next year.I hope I have power tomorrow so I can watch. Hrod got an out!!! Maybe he will be good henry tonight.

Great points, Nats Lady, about Desi and his talents. I'm still aboard the Desi train, but he's running out of stops. I still think the Nats make a run at Reyes in the offseason, but I don't think Uncle Teddy writes the check.

The team is in a bad stretch, no doubt. It isn't fun to watch, but it happens to all teams and when it happens, the team seems bleak. I think that is what we are going through. And I am one of those that likes Davey for this team. He hasn't had them humming along, certainly, but for me, bottom line, is that the team overachieved in the first half, especially pitching, and was going to regress regardless of the manager. He plays the best guys, which is job 1 for a manager (and not something Riggs did consistently). I really don't think that the game has passed him by. He is still a very intelligent guy, and baseball doesn't change with the pace of football (and to the extent it does evolve, it is more about which players to acquire – younger, speedier guys). We need better players, including bullpen guys.Re: Desi, NatsLady makes some good points that are hard to argue with. I have always liked him but he is gettng to the point where I question whether he will ever put it all together consistently. I wonder if the Nats go after Phillips instead of Reyes. Cheaper, not quite as good (but good nonetheless) and durable.

I agree that Reyes has injury problems, but even a fixed Desi (and what are the chances of that, to be honest) won't be anywhere near the force that Reyes is. .336/.377/.507 this year. Yikes! More than solves our leadoff hitter problem.

Reyes solves at least three problems:1. Leadoff hitter with speed.2. Consistent fielding shortstop.3. Makes Desi the utilty guy and first right-handed pinch-hitter.But if he prevents any more games like tonight, I say he's well worth it. This was a disaster.

Reyes is great when he is healthy but doesn't seem to be able to stay that way. But maybe that will make him a bargain, or some teams won't want to take the risk. Zimm,Espi,Desi,and LaRoche could be a really great defensive infield ( if we still care about being a defensive team?). If Morse and Werth provide pop along with our centerfielder to be name later – that could work. Especially if Flores and Ramos continue to power-hit. We can dream.

Love Reyes, and I don't think he is a solution for us.I'm not blaming Davey, but we WERE playing better ball, defensively, under Riggleman. Sounds like the guys weren't happy in the clubhouse, with Riggs, but the results were better. Davey is stressing different things. MacLaren is gone, too. I disagree with Boswell that we should keep Davey. I want someone younger, and more in touch with baseball today.

I wonder sometimes about this whole coaching staff. Davey inherited Porter, McCatty and Eckstein, brought in the others. Porter especially seemed to have more autonomy under Riggs. McClaren seemed to be really good. I know Corrales is an old pro but wonder if he is worth anything other than agreeing with Davey about how baseball was better in the old days. Johnson does not strike me as the kind of person that delegates or allows people other than him to run anything on their own. Does McCatty have input into all these crazy pitching decisions? Not a very cohesive group in there.

Anon 10:36 – I am so afraid that you are right. I had such high hopes for this season and there have been times where I really thought we could do .500 and 3rd or 4th place. Maybe we can get on another better streak but the last month looks tough.We definitely need to get off of this bad streak and turn things around.

JaneB said… Love Reyes, and I don't think he is a solution for us.I'm not blaming Davey, but we WERE playing better ball, defensively, under Riggleman. Sounds like the guys weren't happy in the clubhouse, with Riggs, but the results were better. Davey is stressing different things. MacLaren is gone, too. I disagree with Boswell that we should keep Davey. I want someone younger, and more in touch with baseball today. August 27, 2011 10:18 PM ______________________________Riggleman didn't have a healthy Zim and was stuck with a healthy lousy Matt Stairs.Here is the BIG difference I see, Davey doesn't play aggressive which gets these guys into the game and the adrenalaine flowing. The other observation is Davey has left his starters in 1 pitch too many, too many times.By the way Baseballswami, I'm not buying what Anon @10:36 is selling.

Counting the cost : Michael Morse looked angry. All he's done is provide plus defense and contend for the NL batting title, and now he's been moved away from 1st, a position he clearly enjoyed and that satisfied his shortstop's need to be in every play. Eckstein was shown giving him a pep talk in the dugout – something he's never needed before. [A shout-out to the superb MASN production crew that has never misses this stuff-remember Manny and Elijah Dukes just about coming to blows for all to see?] He responded with a titanic upper deck blast in the 8th off LeCure, who had struck out Cora, Desmond (7th) Werth and Zimm (8th).Marrero's errors led to 3 unearned runs, but the booted double play in the 4th cost two outs that would've prevented a 4th run. So the final score is 6-3. Take away these 4 runs and Nats Win!!! Middle fielders (catcher, ss, 2d, center) hate to be moved from their natural positions because they want to be in on every play. The move to first worked for Morse because it satisfied his shortstop's desire to be in on every play and let him use his fielding skills. He's 4th in the running for the batting crown, and management has just crushed him. Yes, he homered, but it was out of anger. That happy, boyish natural is gone, and has been ever since he was told of the move. That's a shame.

Defensively, Marrero had a good spring–actually very good. He had a good year at triple A. I think the kid should be given the benefit of the doubt, not judged by the first ball hit to him in the big leagues. Heck, it wasn't so long ago that Morris made two errors in one game, and he hardly ever makes an error.Good and fair analysis of Desi, Natslady. I'm a big fan, but he's got a couple of issues to deal with. Regarding Reyes–obviously he is terrific this year, but as I have him on two of my fantasy teams, that darn hammy is killing me. And I wonder what Reyes stats were in his second year in the Bigs. (I'll look them up in a second). I believe he played second his first year and was mediocre at best.

The good news is that the Nats have now scored 500 runs.The bad news is that ranks 27th out of 30 teams.The Nats' fielding percentage of .982 ranks 20th out of the 30 teams.All of which is a shame, because their 3.67 ERA ranks 8th out of 30 teams.If they could hit it and catch it they wouldn't be 62-69.

Nationals fielding and rank in MLB March/April 2.3 9thMay 0.0 13thJune -3.0 21stJuly -2.6 21stAugust -0.3 18thFull Season -3.6 17th (from Fangraphs.com)http://www.fangraphs.com/teams.aspx?pos=all&lg=all&stats=bat&type=8&season=2011&month=0&season1=It seems to me had reasonable fielding when LaRoche and RZimm were here. With Zimm back and in good form (August) fielding is improved. Still the Nats were never tops or close to it in fielding, the Diamondbacks and Red Sox are the top teams consistently.

The thing is, Morse doesn't make errors, but he doesn't get to balls either. Charlie and Dave, in their comments on the bunt yesterday that Espi ended up fielding at first (very close call but out), Morse doesn't charge balls, he stays near the base. So when Marrero charged the bunt, it took the other fielders by surprise. IMO, that's a good type of surprise. I'm sorry if Morse is upset at not playing first base. But he was going to the outfield when LaRoche came back anyway. I hope he will be a "pro" and still give his best.

@Gonat: in summary, yes, the Nats were playing (marginally) better defensive ball when Riggs was here. Probably because we had better corner infielders. Hairston and Cora are fine fielders but they are not RZimm. And Morse is NOT Adam LaRoche.

Drew8 said… The good news is that the Nats have now scored 500 runs.The bad news is that ranks 27th out of 30 teams.The Nats' fielding percentage of .982 ranks 20th out of the 30 teams.All of which is a shame, because their 3.67 ERA ranks 8th out of 30 teams.If they could hit it and catch it they wouldn't be 62-69. August 28, 2011 7:49 AM _______________________________We were having a similar discussion yesterday in comparison to the Braves. Team ERA isn't a great indicator when you have such a poor bullpen and you are trying to evaluate your starters.If somehow you can pull starter ERA and neutralize seperately the Earned Runs scored from Inherited runners you will find the Nats starters I think are #3 only behind Philadelphia and the San Fran Giants.Unfortunately runs scored by the offense can't be sugar coated nor can the defense.My only thoughts on the offense is fairly obvious, not enough clutch hits and the #1 and #2 batters don't get on base at a high enough % to give the #3 and #4 enough legitimate RBI opportunities.

I'm not that fond of fielding percentage as a defensive metric because it doesn't measure range. In other words, a fielder like Desi or RZimm gets to more balls, and therefore has more chances (and more chances to make errors) than some other fielders. This is not to excuse Desi, of course.

baseballswami said… Gonat — would rather have you be right. It's hard to feel positive after these last 5 games. August 27, 2011 11:43 PM ____________________________I know. You figure you have to go 3-2 in those games. Bad time for Ryan Zimmerman to go ICE COLD and Davey needs to subscribe to the Sparky Anderson theory on pulling pitchers.Look, Riggleman wasn't perfect on yanking his starters either but Riggleman was better at winning the 1 run games. Davey has shut down the aggressive play of the team. He said it himself when he first got here and did a "rare" suicide squeeze. Riggleman would play for the "one" run so in the Thursday game if you got that 1 run and a 4-3 lead you then bring in Storen and close out that game.Hindsight is great so Tuesday and Wednesday you think you have a shot if you pull your starters a batter earlier or an inning earlier that you could win those games.

Gonat– I'm not sure what you mean by shutting down the "aggressive" game. I'm seeing bunts and attempted steals, it's just not working. He put Desi in the leadoff slot exactly so Desi could get on base and use his speed.

NatsLady said… I'm not that fond of fielding percentage as a defensive metric because it doesn't measure range. In other words, a fielder like Desi or RZimm gets to more balls, and therefore has more chances (and more chances to make errors) than some other fielders. This is not to excuse Desi, of course. August 28, 2011 9:38 AM ___________________________Agreed. I think team UZR is a better metric and if there is a ERC (Component ERA) for starters that would be another good metric, and then team OBP and team clutch for the offense.The good news is over an entire season you begin to pinpoint your weaknesses.

NatsLady said… Gonat– I'm not sure what you mean by shutting down the "aggressive" game. I'm seeing bunts and attempted steals, it's just not working. He put Desi in the leadoff slot exactly so Desi could get on base and use his speed. August 28, 2011 9:44 AM _____________________________Steals are way down, thats a fact. Bunt hits, suicide squeezes, hit & runs, going 1st to 3rd on hits. We all know how Riggles hated his commercial Small Ball/Smart Ball but that is what worked with this team. When Riggleman left team pythagorean also matched to the team W/L so it wasn't like there was an excess of luck.Davey has certainly had some bad luck.

Here is a long article on one-run games with lots of links.http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/ten-things-about-one-run-games/Here are the 2011 one-run game winners (you can have a lot of fun on fangraphs and baseball reference when it's raining.)http://www.baseball-reference.com/games/situational.cgi?from=2011&to=2011&0=2&1=3&rsgtlt=gt&rs=5&ragtlt=gt&ra=5&2=6&trgtlt=lt&tr=100&3=9&mvgtlt=eq&mv=1&4=10&owlsgtlt=gt&owls=.500&sortby=WP&teams=team&years=each&submit=Run+Situation

In today's baseball, the GM defines the team and it is the Managers job to win with what you have. Not even the Yankees have a perfect team. The Nationals lack balance. They are close, yet far. The strength has been in the starting pitching who have had to work on low run support, lack of clutch hitting and a poor bullpen behind the starters. These are areas that have to improve for 2012.Joe Posnanski described Sparky Anderson and his other nickname of "Captain Hook" for his history of relying on a strong bullpen. Posnanski writes that Sparky felt pitchers were disposable, that if they weren’t getting outs, then it was his job as manager to find someone who would. In 1975, he went 45 straight games without allowing a pitcher to complete a game, a record in those days — the nightly hooks were so shocking that people in Cincinnati booed Sparky even though the Reds were leading the division by 10 games. “If you want to stay in the game, it’s like dance steps, boys,” Sparky would say. “You need to play the song in your head like a waltz — one-two-three, one-two-three, one-two-three. Play it like that, and I’ll just sit right here in the dugout and enjoy it. But you start going one-two-three … four … five … well, we’ll see you later.”Davey can't be "Captain Hook" because the bullpen is so poor, Davey has stuck with his starters longer which hasn't worked either. You're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't.

Nix at first instead of Morse? I don't get it. Put Nix in the outfield where he has LOTS more experience. I know they are holding first for Marrero/LaRoche and so want to keep Morse in left to "remember" how to play there. But I want to win at least one darn game. And I think Morse at first gives us a getter chance…even if he is low in tne rankings at first.